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The First Manhattan Store for Flor

The modular carpet tile manufacturer Flor, founded as a Web- and catalog-based company in 2003, is establishing brick-and-mortar stores. The company’s Manhattan boutique (at left) opens on Thursday in SoHo, offering help to those tired of deciphering carpet texture from photos.

Photo

Credit
Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

“It’s an opportunity to touch and feel the product, and play with it, before a purchase,” said Greg Colando, the company’s president. The store has a grid on the floor, and Mr. Colando encourages customers to “pull full-size tiles and build a rug right there with the help of our design team.” Shoppers can then order a resulting design for home delivery, or take away sample tiles.

The company already has stores in Chicago and Santa Monica, Calif., and another is scheduled to open in Atlanta on April 28; Mr. Colando predicted that the company will have 8 to 10 stores by the end of the year.